Christmas Menu

Time to disclose what the Klasens will be having to eat this Christmas holiday season. I have to admit, that I am not planning on spending as much time cooking over the next few days as I have in past seasons. We are all quite in the holiday spirit, but have decided to spend more time together than have me being in the kitchen all day. Still, I think we some good food ahead of us.

As is our family tradition, on Christmas Eve we will be having Prime Rib. If you haven’t yet tried my perfect Prime Rib recipe, you really need to try it. It comes out perfect every time and allows me to have it in the oven while we are off at Christmas Eve mass. Actually, I have to admit that this recipe was my Mother’s and it was handed down to me. The kids have requested baked potato as a side dish, so I will oblige them. Suzanne wants some green beans with bell peppers and onions, so I will oblige her. Add in some dinner rolls and a key lime pie to finish it off and we have Christmas Eve dinner.

Christmas day is not so much a traditional dinner for us. We always celebrate a nice meal, but the menu is ever changing. I had some good ideas this year, but Suzanne spoke up that she wanted a turkey this Christmas day. I wasn’t too excited about that, but she acted quickly and bought a bird, so Turkey dinner it is. Don’t get me wrong, I like turkey, but was thinking a bit more exotic. I will prepare most of the traditional sides for turkey but will make them differently than I did on Thanksgiving.

Yesterday, I made a big pot of chili for us to enjoy for lunch over the holiday week. Today, the family will be baking some Christmas cookies. Oh, and we will of course be enjoying the Detroit Lions football game. Only two more games for them this season as they have again failed to make the playoffs despite a 6 – 2 start to the season.

Our Christmas Eve dinner was delicious. We had more or less a pot luck – except you were assigned a category. My mother was told to bring soup, so I made it for her. A cauliflower and ham chowder. I great holiday tradition. Very good, very rich. I was assigned dessert and opted to make our family favorite of cream puff hot fudge. Of course I used Sander’s Hot Fudge straight from Michigan. The nine of us gorged ourselves on fantastic taste treats. Barb and Walt made the main course of Chicken Cordon Bleu. Everyone outdid themselves and it was a memorable meal.